With about ten games left in the MLB’s regular season, the playoff picture is slowly starting to come together. Twelve teams will be included in the playoff picture due to the recent expansion, six teams from both the American League and the National League.
The Milwaukee Brewers were the first team to clinch a berth in the postseason, followed by the New York Yankees. Milwaukee clinched the NL Central, while New York leads the AL East. The Bronx Bombers have been in a battle with the Baltimore Orioles for the top spot in their division all season. Both of those teams, along with the Cleveland Guardians, are still fighting for who will end with the best overall record in the American League.
As in who can be the next team to clinch, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Orioles and Guardians all have at least a 99% chance of reaching the postseason, according to FanGraphs. The Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres are all above 90%. Teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins and New York Mets have the postseason in their sights, but their chances aren’t as high as the others.
A lot of teams will be battling for a playoff position until the final weekend of the season. Though most of the division leads are comfortable, the Wild Card race in both leagues is a whole different story.
“We’re definitely competing to clinch, and it’s going to come down to one play, one pitch. And that’s what the playoffs is about,” said Mets infielder Jose Iglesias on Monday.
Last year’s World Series featured two Wild Card teams. Neither the Texas Rangers nor the Diamondbacks clinched a postseason berth until the penultimate day of the regular season slate. However, both teams made it count and made it further into the playoffs than anyone would have imagined, resulting in the Rangers being crowned champions.
Sometimes this race comes down to the tiebreaker as one game could send a team to the Wild Card Series and the other home. This season series between the Mets and Atlanta Braves is tied. What makes this interesting is that the Mets will travel down to Atlanta to play three games at Truist Park from Sept. 24-26. That series has the potential to decide the postseason fates of both teams, as the Wild Card race is just that close. The Diamondbacks and the Padres are the two other teams that are in this Wild Card battle, and this fight won’t be decided until the very last games of the regular season, unless there is a major turn of events. The same scenario is happening over in the American League as the Twins and Detroit Tigers are separated by just half a game. The Royals are in the lead by 1.5 games, and the Tigers have an important tiebreaker advantage if the two teams were to end the regular season with the same record. That could come into play for either a division or a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.
We’re definitely competing to clinch, and it’s going to come down to one play, one pitch. And that’s what the playoffs is about.
Jose Iglesias, Mets Infielder
There’s a lot to think about and keep track of as these standings change every single day. But it will all end in a little over a week as October is just around the corner. The playoff field is shaping up and now we are just awaiting the potential tiebreakers and clinch scenarios for each team in the races.